Maggie O'Neill

British actress

Maggie O’Neill
Born	Margaret O'Neill (1962-11-15) 15 November 1962 (age 61) Buckinghamshire, England^[1]
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1985–present
Known for	Peak Practice (2000–2002) Shameless (2004–2007) EastEnders (2008)

Margaret "Maggie" O'Neill (born 15 November 1962)^[1] is an English actress. She is known for her television roles in Peak Practice (2000–2002), Shameless (2004–2007), EastEnders (2008) and Two Doors Down (2019 and 2023) as Sandra. In 1986 she appeared in the music video for Simply Red's single "Holding Back The Years". In 1988 she appeared in the film Gorillas in the Mist.

Biography

The youngest of six Catholic brothers and sisters ^[2] born to head-teacher parents,^[3] O'Neill grew up in the Midlands,^[3] where she was educated at a convent school, and, after being inspired by a sixth-form drama teacher, "fell" into acting.^[4]

After training at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama,^[1] she starred in the video for Simply Red's "Holding Back the Years" in 1986, then made her professional stage debut in Moving Pictures by Stephen Lowe at the West Yorkshire Playhouse in Leeds in 1985. After making her professional screen debut in the British production Mona Lisa with Bob Hoskins in 1986, she made her Hollywood debut in the Sigourney Weaver film Gorillas in the Mist in 1988. She acted with Keith Barron and Annette Crosbie in the 1989 TV series Take Me Home.

O'Neill played Alex Redman in ITV's medical drama Peak Practice and appeared as Sheila Jackson in Channel 4's comedy drama Shameless. O'Neill also played Max and Jack Branning's sister Suzy in the soap opera EastEnders for five months in 2008.^[3] As a voice actress, O'Neill voiced companion Sally Morgan in Doctor Who Big Finish Productions audio dramas.

Filmography

Mona Lisa (1986) as Girl in Paradise Club
Wherever You Are... (1988) as Julian's second wife
Gorillas in the Mist (1988) as Kim
Defrosting the Fridge (1988, TV)
Jim Henson's The Storyteller – Greek Myths (TV) {Theseus and the Minotaur} as Ariadne
Take Me Home BBC – Three Part TV Drama (1989, TV) as Kathy
Seven Minutes [de] (1989) as Berta
Inspector Morse (1991, TV) in episode "Fat Chance" as Hilary Dobson
Under Suspicion (1991) as Hazel Aaron
Boon (1991, TV) in episode "Lie of the Land" as Amanda Shepley
The Life and Times of Henry Pratt (1992) TV
Friday on My Mind (1992) BBC TV as Louise^[5]
When Pigs Fly (1993) as Sheila
Cadfael (1994, TV) in episode "One Corpse Too Many" as Aline Siward
All Men Are Mortal (1995) as Florence
Killing Me Softly (1995, TV) as Sara Thornton
The Fix (1997, TV) as Marina Kay
Invasion: Earth (1998, TV) as Amanda Tucker
Births, Marriages and Deaths (1999) as Alex
Hero of the Hour (2000, TV) as Alison Liddle
Peak Practice (2001, 2002, TV) as Alex Redman^[6]
White Teeth (2002, TV) as Poppy Burt-Jones
Murder in Mind (2002, TV) in episode "Rage"
Blue Murder (2004) in episode "Lonely" (TV) as Matilda Urwin
Shameless (2004–2007, TV) as Sheila Jackson
Midsomer Murders (2004, TV) in episode "The Straw Woman" as Agnes Waterhouse.
Wild at Heart (2007) as Elaine
Mansfield Park (2007) as Mrs Norris
Little Devil (2007, TV) as Laura Crowe
The Royal (2007, TV) as Jane Cooper in episode #2.5
EastEnders (2008, TV) as Suzy Branning
New Tricks (2010, TV) in episode "Gloves Off" as Ronni Mayfair
Inspector George Gently (2012, TV) in episode "Gently Northern Soul" as Matilda Braithwaite
Truckers (2013, TV) as Sue
A Gert Lush Christmas (2015, TV) as Aunty Jade
Death in Paradise (2016) as Perrie Campbell episode #5.8
The Halcyon (2017, TV) as Gloria episode #1.4
Midsomer Murders (2018, TV) in episode #19.6, "The Curse of the Ninth" as Audrey Glenhill.
Unforgotten as Ellen Price episodes #2.4 & #2.5
Call the Midwife (2018) as Mae Stanton episode #7.2
Father Brown as Mrs. Kendall in episode #7.9 “The Skylark Scandal" (2019)
Two Doors Down (2019 & 2023) as Sandra
White Lines (2020) as Yoana
Casualty (2021) as Cindy

Other appearances

Simply Red, "Holding Back the Years" (1985, music video) as the young teacher
Clock Opera, "The Lost Buoys" (2012, music video) as the wife

References

^ ^a ^b ^c "Maggie O'Neill:My Secret Life". The Independent. 27 October 2007. Retrieved 6 September 2008.
^ "Interrogation: Maggie O'Neill". Sunday Mirror. 29 July 2007. Retrieved 9 January 2014.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Maggie O'Neill: Suzy Branning". BBC – Eastenders. Retrieved 6 September 2008.
^ "Maggie O'Neill – career at a glance". Radio Times. August 2004. Retrieved 6 September 2008.
^ "The Changing Face of Doctor Who: How to regenerate a Time Lord". Retrieved 9 January 2014.
^ "Peak Practice – Cast List". peakpracticeonline.co.uk. Retrieved 6 September 2008.